Said With a Song, Sealed With a Kiss
by Aikori Ichijouji
Summary: A day at the beach turns out to be the worse day of Pan's life and it's all Trunks' fault. Can he repair her broken heart? SORRY I CAN'T COME UP WITH A SEQUEL YET... BUT I ADDED EPILOGUE!
1. A day at the beach.

Author's Note: This is the first t/p fic I've ever written. I've been holding on to it for a while and decided to post it so that y'all can see what else I've written. Also, it makes for a good distraction since I'm still working on my other fic. (^_^)  
  
Disclaimer: Okay, as you know, DB, DBZ, and DBGT do not belong to me... as much as I wish it did, I can't be so lucky. However, the song "How Do You Feel" does belong to me... Yep! That's right! I wrote it ALL BY MYSELF! I did not use the entire song because of the threat of piracy. Therefore, if you have the urge to steal the lyrics for yourself, I will personally hunt you down and have my hacker friends trash your PC!  
  
Anywho, on with the show!!!  
  
  
  
SAID WITH A SONG, SEALED WITH A KISS  
  
  
  
The phone rang audibly throughout the house. Upset that her sleep had been disturbed, Pan groaned and rolled over on her side.  
  
"Pan! It's for you!" her mother shouted from downstairs.  
  
Pan groaned again, louder this time. She wanted to blast whoever had the nerve to wake her up so early. She fumbled with the phone on her dresser until she held the receiver correctly.  
  
"Hello?" she answered groggily.  
  
"Hey sleepyhead, wake up!" a male voice said on the other end.  
  
Pan immediately recognized whom she was talking to.  
  
"Trunks? Why the hell are you up so early on a Saturday and why have you decided to wake me up?" she asked sounding 'slightly' annoyed.  
  
"Whoa, take it easy! I was sleeping peacefully too about 10 Minutes ago until Goten called me." he replied.  
  
"What does Uncle Goten calling you have anything to do with why you woke me up?" she maintained her tone.  
  
"Well, since you and Bra are on summer vacation, he figured we could take you two to the beach and make a day of it." Trunks explained.  
  
Shaking the last bits of sleepiness off, Pan let the weight of Trunks' message sink in. A day at the beach? With Trunks? Never mind that Bra and Goten were going to be there, she was going to spend the day with Trunks. In his swimwear! This was more than she was ready to handle, but she wasn't about to back out of it.  
  
"That sounds good, what time do I have to be ready?" she asked, trying to repress the excitement in her voice.  
  
"Umm. about an hour?" he replied.  
  
"Great Dende, you guys really love this last minute stuff don't you?" she said as she sighed. Trunks laughed sheepishly.  
  
"Fine, an hour. Bye." she said.  
  
"I'll be the one picking you up. Bye." he said before hanging up.  
  
Pan stared at the phone in her hand and then dropped it in its cradle as if it were burning her. As she sighed deeply, a brunette head popped up from a sleeping bag on the floor and a pair of green eyes looked inquisitively at Pan.  
  
"What was that all about?" the brunette asked.  
  
Pan almost jumped out of her skin until she remembered that she had her friend, Aikori, sleepover the night before.  
  
"Aiko, I almost forgot you were there." she said, a bit startled.  
  
"Mind filling me in?" Aikori asked.  
  
"Uncle Goten and Trunks are planning a day at the beach with Bra and me."  
  
"Are you allowed to bring a friend along?" Aikori inquired.  
  
Pan looked thoughtful for a second and then replied.  
  
"Trunks didn't say anything about that, but I think you should go with me anyway to help me maintain my sanity."  
  
Aikori raised an eyebrow and smiled mischievously at her friend. She knew exactly what Pan meant by what she said.  
  
"Intimidated by the idea of seeing your crush in his trunks (hee hee, I made a pun!)?" she asked, still smiling.  
  
"A little." Pan admitted.  
  
"I'm glad you didn't decline." Aikori said excitedly. "You would have to be a complete baka to not want to feast on some eye candy today."  
  
A smile played on Pan's lips and soon disappeared when she took one look at the clock on her dresser.  
  
"Oh Dende, we gotta get ready! He'll be here in less than an hour!" she exclaimed as she shoved her friend into the bathroom.  
  
With Aikori dressing in the next room, Pan began looking through her drawers for something to wear. She saw her favorite red top and went to reach for it when her eyes fell upon the lavender sundress in the back of her drawer that Bulma had bought for her last year. She had hid it in her drawer because she hates dresses. She was about to make a grab for her top and a pair of shorts, but she took one more look at the dress.  
  
'Lavender, just like Trunks' hair.' she mused.  
  
She had never tried it on. So, after putting on her black, two-piece swimsuit, she slipped the little dress over her head. Just then, Aikori, who had been idly singing, came into Pan's bedroom and stopped abruptly before what she saw, the last words of the song hanging in midair.  
  
"You sing so well, you should really perform again sometime." Pan said absentmindedly to her friend as she looked at her reflection in the mirror.  
  
Aikori gaped at Pan. The sundress, with its spaghetti straps, fit Pan so well. It clung to her curves and flared ever so slightly from the hips. Ending a few inches above her knees, it showed off her well-toned legs.  
  
"Pan, that dress, it's." she broke off.  
  
"Kinda girly isn't it?" Pan attempted to finish her friend's sentence while still looking at herself in the mirror.  
  
"No! I-It's absolutely PERFECT!" Aikori squealed. "Trunks won't be able to take his eyes off you."  
  
Pan looked at her friend and let out a small giggle. She turned back to the mirror and looked at her reflection again. She did look good in the dress, but one dress wasn't going to make a man 14 years her senior fall madly in love with her. She opened her mouth to say something when the doorbell rang.  
  
"Pan! Trunks is here to pick you up!" Videl yelled from the front door.  
  
"Coming!" Pan called back.  
  
Pan and Aikori grabbed their bags and ran downstairs. Videl was the first to see Pan in the dress.  
  
"Well, it's about time you broke down and wore that thing." she said. "Bulma would be pleased to know that her money wasn't wasted."  
  
Pan smiled meekly at her mother and made her way to the door with Aikori following closely behind her.  
  
"Aikori?" Videl interrupted. "You're going to the beach too?"  
  
Aikori nodded. "Hai. I told my mom I was spending today with Pan, so I don't think she'll mind. Besides, Pan lent me a bathing suit."  
  
Seeing the two dark-haired girls approaching him, Trunks took a while to realize that the one in the dress was Pan. In a word, she looked gorgeous as she nonchalantly waved her mother away so that they could leave. Noticing that Trunks was staring at her, she met his gaze and put her hand on her hip.  
  
"Are we going or not?" she asked impatiently.  
  
"Huh?" Trunks broke from his reverie. "Oh yeah, let's go."  
  
"Oh, and Trunks, this is my friend, Aikori. She's coming with us." Pan motioned towards her friend.  
  
Aikori stepped towards Trunks and held out her hand to him. He shook it clumsily while staring at Pan the whole time. Aikori saw this and giggled softly. Trunks finally tore his eyes off of Pan and walked back to his car. Aikori walked enough to Pan as they headed for the car to manage to nudge her with an elbow.  
  
"What did I tell you?" she whispered. "You'd think you were a tasty meal from the way he was gawking at you."  
  
"Don't be silly, Aiko." Pan whispered back, convinced that there was another reason for Trunks' reaction. "He's never seen me in a dress before. He probably didn't know whether to laugh or to scream."  
  
As if he had heard them talking, Trunks confirmed Pan's suspicions as soon as the girls got into the car.  
  
"So Pan, you couldn't find anything else clean to wear today?" he jeered.  
  
Pan, who had taken the passenger's seat beside Trunks, glared at him angrily as he gave her a sideways glance and his patented smirk. As his sapphire eyes met hers, she froze and her indignant look faded. She almost drowned in his gaze. They broke away simultaneously and Trunks started the car. The ride to the beach was painfully silent. Pan remained annoyed with Trunks for his snide remark and spent the whole trip sitting perfectly upright with her arms crossed. Trunks, not wanting to provoke Pan further, gave his full attention to driving. Aikori was enjoying the tension between the two.  
  
When they got to the beach, Bra and Goten had already arrived since they drove only themselves. Once they agreed on a spot to settle on, Trunks pulled out a capsule and proceeded to open it. From out of a puff of smoke, two large blankets and a cooler appeared on the sand.  
  
"Hey Aiko, I'm glad you came." Bra said. "At least this way we outnumber the guys."  
  
Trunks and Goten exchanged glances and Goten decided to be the one to respond.  
  
"Careful Bra, you might just be able to intimidate us yet." he cautioned.  
  
Bra stuck out her tongue and pulled down her lower eyelid in reply to Goten's quip.  
  
Everyone stripped down to their swimsuits and raced each other to the water's edge. While the guys took turns trying to drown each other, the girls grouped together and began talking. Actually, only Aikori and Bra were participating in the conversation. Pan was busy watching Trunks trying to dunk Goten's head in the water.  
  
"So there's this club having an open mic night next Friday. You should go and sing, Aiko." Bra was suggesting.  
  
"I don't know." Aikori said tentatively. "What do you think, Pan?"  
  
Pan realized her name had been called and immediately snapped out of her dream state.  
  
"What?" she asked.  
  
"Hey Panny, you wanna stop staring at my brother like a lovesick puppy and pay attention to us for a minute?" Bra interjected.  
  
Pan blushed slightly at Bra's remark and began to stammer.  
  
"W-Why would you say something like that, Bra?" she asked.  
  
Both Bra and Aikori rolled their eyes at Pan's attempt to play dumb.  
  
"When will you stop denying that you're strung out over my brother?" Bra demanded.  
  
"Is it that obvious?" Pan wondered as she blinked slowly.  
  
"I'm surprised that Trunks hasn't figured you out yet." Aikori chimed in.  
  
"That's because my brother is a complete baka." Bra stated matter-of- factly.  
  
Pan didn't know how to respond. In a daze, she slowly walked out of the water towards the shore where the blankets had been laid. She sighed and flopped down on one of the blankets and draped her left arm over her eyes. She tried to make her mind stop thinking about what Bra and Aikori had just said. She would never bring herself to tell Trunks the way she feels about him. There was no way he could feel the same about her. Pan suddenly felt cold drops of water dripping on her. She removed her arm from her eyes and squinted in the sunlight to see Trunks leaning over her with a huge grin on his face.  
  
"Trying to catch up on the sleep you missed?" he asked mischievously.  
  
"No, I'm trying to work on my tan." Pan replied in a sarcastic tone.  
  
"Well then, mind if I watch you burn?" he continued to grin.  
  
"Sure. Fine. Whatever. (perhaps some of you may remember that quote from Scully on X-Files. if you do. good for you!)" she said.  
  
Trunks sat down next to Pan on the blanket and looked out onto the water where Goten was desperately attempting to fend off the two girls who were splashing him mercilessly. He looked down at Pan and marveled as the sun reflected off of her golden skin and her body which looked so unlike the tiny Pan he used to baby sit.  
  
'I never realized just how much she's grown.' he thought.  
  
"Well, this is a first." Pan interrupted his thoughts.  
  
"What's that?" he asked.  
  
"You've been sitting here for the past few minutes and you have yet to come up with another of your witty remarks." she commented. "Is the sun affecting your brain or have you used up your quota for the day?"  
  
"I don't know. I guess I just don't have anything to say." Trunks shrugged.  
  
Pan sat up and gave him a serious look.  
  
"Wow. The girls must love you when you're this articulate." she said incredulously.  
  
Trunks looked at her and started to laugh uncontrollably. When he finally managed to catch his breath, he laid back on the blanket and stared up at the sky.  
  
"To tell you the truth, I've kinda given up on girls for the time being." He explained. "Besides, Marron is dating someone else right now and she's the only one I've ever really considered becoming serious with."  
  
Pan suddenly was fighting a losing battle against the tears that threatened her eyes. She had to get away from him before she burst out crying. However, Trunks had already sensed a change in her expression.  
  
"Panny, what's the matter?" he asked, looking concerned.  
  
She turned away from him to see Aikori walking towards her. Aikori immediately saw the pained and desperate look on her friend's face and knew she had to get her friend away as quickly as she could.  
  
"Hey Pan, you wanna show me where I can wash the sand out of this bathing suit?" she asked, coming to Pan's rescue.  
  
Pan cleared her throat. "Sure, let's go."  
  
When they reached near the showers, Pan collapsed onto a bench and started to cry hysterically. Aikori sat beside her and hugged her lightly so that she could cry freely on her shoulder.  
  
"I didn't think it would hurt this much." Pan said between sobs.  
  
"What did he say to you?" Aikori questioned.  
  
Pan recounted her conversation with Trunks to Aikori and managed to finish before a fresh batch of tears spilled from her eyes.  
  
"Look Pan-chan, I know he shouldn't have mentioned that to you, but he wouldn't have said it if he knew how you feel about him." Aikori soothed.  
  
"I guess you're right." she sniffled.  
  
"Of course I am." Aikori confirmed. "Now lets wash off your face so no one can tell you've been crying."  
  
After their trip to the bathroom, the girls returned to the others. Pan tried to act normal, but refused to talk to Trunks for any long period of time and found various excuses to cut the conversations short. She helped when they buried Goten in the sand and built a sand castle around his head. She even managed to laugh and the ridiculous outcome. However, when it was time for everyone to return home, Pan became uneasy. There was no way she could survive the car ride home with Trunks without wanting to blast him into tiny pieces. Luckily, Goten volunteered to carry her home since he had to see his brother about something anyway. Bra declared that she'd drive Aikori home. Trunks was left to travel alone.  
  
"So, what's up with the mood swings, Panny?" Goten asked once they were in his car.  
  
"Nothing." Pan replied in a monotone, staring out the window in an attempt to avoid her uncle's concerned look.  
  
"I know that's not true." He reasoned. "I saw how upset you looked after you were talking to Trunks. Did he say something to upset you?"  
  
"Look," Pan started with irritation rising in her voice. "just leave it alone. That's what I'm trying to do."  
  
Goten didn't want to force Pan, so he shrugged and gave up trying to question her.  
  
'She's not a little kid anymore, she's almost 18.' He reminded himself. 'I guess she can handle her own problems now.'  
  
When they arrived at her house, Videl had just finished dinner and invited everyone to the table. Goten, (being the oinker that he is ^_^) gladly accepted, while Pan said she wasn't hungry and excused herself to go to her room. Gohan and Videl gave Goten a questioning look and he just giggled nervously.  
  
"Teenagers." He managed to say.  
  
Once she reached the solitude of her room, Pan removed her clothes to go in the shower. No sooner had she turned on the water than the tears started afresh. This time, she didn't fight them. She just let the hot water wash them away as they fell.  
  
'Damn you, Trunks.' She thought. 'Damn you for making me fall in love with you.'  
  
xxxxxxxxxxxxxx  
  
  
  
Author's Note: Will Trunks be able to repair the relationship with Pan that he's just screwed up? Next chapter, Pan tries to move on. Trunks comes up with an idea. And a happy, musical ending. READ ON! 


	2. How do you feel?

Said With a Song, Sealed With a Kiss Chapter 2  
  
AN: It's taken me forever to finish typing this fic out. I wrote it months ago and only now I've started to enter it into my computer. Anyway, the story continues. Pan is upset and Trunks is clueless. What else is new?  
  
  
  
When Trunks reached home, he lay on his bed and replayed his conversation with Pan over and over in his head. He couldn't figure out why she had become so upset with him. He recalled the shadow that crossed over her face and changed her usual jovial expression to a dark and almost painful one.  
  
"What could I have possible said to make her attitude change like that?" he asked aloud.  
  
"You mean you really don't know?"  
  
A female voice came from the entrance to his room. He looked up and saw his sister leaning in his doorway, cross-armed with one foot vertical against the frame. She looked at him sympathetically as she shook her head slowly in disbelief.  
  
"I swear, you can be so insensitive sometimes that you're just as bad as Daddy." Bra straightened up and walked away.  
  
'Insensitive?'  
  
He thought back and tried to recall what exactly he had said just before Pan became upset and turned away from him.  
  
**"Besides. she's the only one I've ever considered becoming serious with."**  
  
The realization hit him full on as his own words, as well as Bra's, resounded throughout his head in an eerie echo that seemed to be punishing him every time it repeated. He didn't know how he could have missed it.  
  
"Oh Dende!" He whispered to himself. "What have I done?"  
  
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  
  
The next morning, Pan awoke knowing that there was only one thing she could do to clear her head of all memories of yesterday. She quickly threw on some old jeans, her favorite red shirt and tied back her hair with her trademark bandanna. She rushed down her breakfast and called over her shoulder as she hurried out of the house.  
  
"Mom, Dad, I'm going over to train with Vegeta. I'll be back in a few hours!"  
  
Her parents looked at one another after their daughter literally flew out of the house and took off into the air. Pan seemed preoccupied with something and neither of them had a clue as to what it could be.  
  
"Maybe we should just ask her what's wrong." Gohan suggested.  
  
"No, that would only push her away. If she wants to tell us, she'll come to us."  
  
Gohan sighed and nodded at Videl. She was right. He just couldn't understand why he couldn't protect his little girl anymore.  
  
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  
  
Trunks pulled up outside the Son house. He had to at least try talking to Pan to see if he could clear things up between them. Before getting out of his car, he scanned the house and couldn't find her ki.  
  
'She probably went to train with dad."  
  
He drove off and headed towards Satan City to pick up some files for the office. Lost in his thoughts as he walked through downtown, he accidentally bumped into someone and the contents of what they had both been carrying scattered to the ground.  
  
"Sorry."  
  
"Gomen." said a familiar voice.  
  
Trunks looked up and immediately recognized the girl's face from the day before.  
  
"It's Aikori, isn't it?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
She was scrambling about attempting to separate her papers from his. Trunks intervened and began helping to pick up both her and his things. He noticed a makeshift book of stapled leaves of paper labeled simply as 'Songs' and handed it to her.  
  
"You write songs?"  
  
"A little, but I like singing better."  
  
Trunks searched desperately for some kind of reply, but could only manage to voice what had been on his mind all morning.  
  
"Um. You haven't spoken to pan recently, have you?"  
  
"Not since yesterday."  
  
"Did she happen to mention being upset about something?"  
  
Aikori stopped organizing the bunch of papers she had in her hand and looked Trunks squarely in the eye with a serious expression.  
  
"I'm sorry, Trunks, but if you really want to know, you should take that matter up with Pan yourself."  
  
"Oh. okay."  
  
"I must go now. Nice seeing you again."  
  
Aikori left before Trunks even had a chance to respond.  
  
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  
  
"What's wrong with you, brat? Come at me!" Vegeta demanded.  
  
Pan and Vegeta had been training intensely in the gravity chamber for over two hours. Despite her accurate blocking and diversion of the Saiyan Prince's attacks, she was fighting too passively for his liking.  
  
"What's the matter? Has the spawn of Kakkarott's brat gone soft?" he sneered.  
  
"Gomen nasai, Vegeta-san. I don't think I'm applying myself today."  
  
"Hmph!" he grunted. "Come back when you're serious about training."  
  
He turned his back to Pan as she dropped her hands to her sides in a helpless gesture and hung her head. She solemnly exited the gravity room and ran into Bulma on her way out.  
  
"Oh, hey Pan. Are you staying for dinner? I'm sure Bra would love to have you over."  
  
"Thanks, Bulma, but I need to get home. I have some stuff I have to get done." Pan lied.  
  
"Alright. Bye, Pan!"  
  
After toweling herself off, Pan made a quick scan of the space between her and the door to make sure Trunks wasn't anywhere around. The last thing she needed was to run into him today. She walked as quickly as she could to the door and breathed a sigh of relief as she stepped outside. Taking one more glance around, Pan took to the sky and headed for home. No sooner had she departed, did Trunks arrive home (AN: I know. lotsa missed meet-ups here.). He was greeted by his mother as he entered the door.  
  
"Hi dear, did you manage to get the files I asked you for?"  
  
"Yeah. I'm gonna go upstairs and look at them." Bulma noticed an unhappy expression on his face.  
  
"Are you okay, sweetie?"  
  
"I'm fine, mom." Trunks attempted to avoid his mother's concerned stare.  
  
He made it upstairs and found sanctuary in his bedroom. When he dropped the files on top of his dresser, a single sheet of paper slipped out from between the folders and floated down to the floor. Trunks picked it up and looked at it briefly (AN: hee hee. BRIEF-ly!) before realizing that he accidentally ended up with one of Aikori's papers. It looked like a poem, so he figured it must have been one of her songs.  
  
"Hmm. 'How Do You Feel?' by Aikori Ichijouji (AN: yes! That's me! Master songwriter!)." he read aloud.  
  
He scanned through the verses quickly at first, then suddenly slowing down until he was absorbing each line individually. The words struck him as ironic because they seemed to be the testimony of feelings for Pan that he thought he had successfully suppressed. All those seemingly endless conversations that would continue late into the night. They could confide in each other about any and everything. Every time he saw her it was almost as if she grew more and more beautiful with each passing day. Even yesterday, she took him completely by surprise with that dress. The way it fit so close to her body clearly showed that she was no longer the child he used to baby-sit. She was, precisely, everything that he had ever wanted and he was too ignorant to even admit it to himself.  
  
'But she's 14 years younger than me!"  
  
Somehow, that didn't seem to matter at that point. He had just had the revelation of a lifetime and now he had to figure out what to do about it. He looked at the song on the paper once more and an idea began forming in his head.  
  
'But, I can't do this alone. I guess I'll have to convince Bra to help me.'  
  
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  
  
Pan had been moping around the house since she returned home. She felt like kicking herself for letting this whole thing with Trunks get to her. She wished she could hate him, but they were best friends. That made her even more upset. She had to take back her life and try getting back to normal. Remembering the open mic night Bra mentioned the day before, she decided to give Aikori a call.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Hey Aiko, what's new?"  
  
"Pan! Are you okay? Are you feeling better?" Aikori sounded concerned.  
  
"Well, not yet, but I think I know what can help. Remember that open mic night that Bra was talking about yesterday? I think we should go and hang out together."  
  
"Y-you mean you're up for it?" Aikori was shocked.  
  
"Sure! Why not? I can't stay trapped in this house forever, you know."  
  
"Well, I have Bra on the other line trying to convince me to go and perform so that we'd have an excuse to get you out of the house."  
  
"Great! I would love to see you perfom!"  
  
"Then it's settled. A girl's night out on Friday. I gotta go tell Bra the good news!" Aikori squealed with delight.  
  
"Okay Aiko. See you then!"  
  
Aikori switched back to the other line to see if Bra was still holding.  
  
"Bra? You there?"  
  
"Yeah, what took you so long?"  
  
"Well it appears your plan might work after all. That was Pan on the other line. She wants us to go out to the open mic night on Friday together."  
  
"Alright! Mission accomplished!"  
  
Bra cheered and called to her brother who was in the room with her anxiously awaiting the plan to be set in motion.  
  
"Hey Trunks, Pan already decided on going with us and Aikori's gonna sing. What? You wannna talk to Aiko? Hey Aiko, hold on, my brother wants to ask you something."  
  
"Aikori could you do me a small favor?" he asked when he picked up the phone.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Well, I believe I ended up with one of your songs after our little collision yesterday."  
  
"You did? Which one? Did you like it?"  
  
"It's perfect! It's exactly what I want to say and. well. I want you to sing it for me."  
  
Aikori was taken aback. He wanted her to sing one of her own songs at open mic night? And he wanted her to sing it for Pan? A slow smile formed on Aikori's lips. This was going to be the best night of Pan's life!  
  
"Of course. Anything for Pan. Which one was it again?"  
  
"'How Do You Feel?'"  
  
Her smile widened into a grin. She remembered writing that particular song. Pan was in for a huge surprise.  
  
"Alright. Just get Bra to return the lyrics to me so that I can practice."  
  
"Hai. Arigato Aikori!"  
  
"Sayonara, Trunks. Until Friday!"  
  
Trunks hung up the phone and turned towards his sister with the biggest smile she had ever seen on his face. She smiled back at him. She was glad she could make her both brother and her friend happy.  
  
"So, niichan, how are you going to spring your surprise if she doesn't want to be anywhere near you?"  
  
"You leave that up to me!" Trunks winked.  
  
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  
  
Friday afternoon, Bra managed to coerce Pan into coming over to her house so that they could get ready together.  
  
"Don't worry, Pan, my brother's still at work so you two shouldn't run into each other." She assured her.  
  
'At least not until you're supposed to.'  
  
They ran excitedly upstairs to Bra's room and Bra ordered Pan to sit on her bed while she began grabbing clothes from her closet and tossing them towards her. Once she had a suitable pile on the bed, she began to sift through them looking for the perfect outfit for Pan. She came across a red, sequined tope with one strap going over the left shoulder and a pair of shimmering, low-waisted, black pants.  
  
"Aha! Pan, go try these on."  
  
When Pan returned from the bathroom, Bra wanted to applaud herself for choosing such a great outfit for her friend. It couldn't have fit her any better and the top showed off her toned arms quite well. Bra chose a simple little black dress for herself and began to work on their hair and make-up. When she finished, she told Pan to go have a look at what she'd done in the bathroom mirror. Pan ran to see how she looked. Once again, Bra did a remarkable job on Pan. Her eyes were smoky with black eyeliner and black and gray eye shadow. A shimmering lipstick, which was the same color as Pan's top, was put on her lips. Her hair was parted on the right side with the smaller section tucked behind her ear and the larger portion cascading over to the left side with just a few strategically placed strands falling into her face. She smiled at her reflection.  
  
'And to think that you passed up on this, Trunks'  
  
She came careening around the corner in the hallway as she exited the bathroom to go thank Bra for working her magic on her, but she wasn't looking where she was going and collided with another body. They both lost their footing and tumbled to the floor in a tangle of arms and legs.  
  
"Ow!" a male voice exclaimed.  
  
Pan managed to brace herself enough with her arms so that the fall didn't completely ruin Bra's hair and make-up masterpiece. Her face was just inches away from a man's chest clothed in a black shirt. She inhaled and immediately recognized the scent that met her nostrils.  
  
"Trunks." she half growled.  
  
She lifted her head a bit and looked up towards his face. She met his eyes with a cold stare. His indigo eyes showed evidence of fear, but Pan noticed another emotion mixed in that she could not quite identify. Someone cleared their throat beside them and both looked towards where the sound originated. There stood Vegeta with his arms crossed, staring mockingly at them. At that moment, Bra emerged from her room to see what the commotion was all about and found the two of them on the floor in their uncompromising position. Trunks blushed slightly.  
  
"Trunks, you baka! You're supposed to still be at work! Now look what you've done! I have to go and fix Pan's hair again!"  
  
The two of them quickly got up from the floor. Trunks looked at Pan and was about to ask if she was alright when she let out a frustrated sigh and followed Bra back to her room. Trunks ran a hand through his hair and walked slowly to his own bedroom with - unbeknownst to him - Vegeta following close behind him. He reached his room and violently threw himself on his bed. Vegeta stood in the doorway, glaring at his son.  
  
"You've fallen for that brat, haven't you?"  
  
Trunks wasn't in the mood to banter with his father. The look Pan gave him felt like he had been pierced through the heart with a sharp ice crystal.  
  
"So what if I have?" he grunted into his pillow as he lay face down on his bed.  
  
"Don't be an ass boy! It appears that she's having just as much conflict over this as you are!"  
  
He turned to look at his father, his expression hadn't changed since he found them on the floor in the hallway.  
  
"I cannot control who you choose to be your mate, Trunks. Make sure you choose the right one or you'll regret it for the rest of your life. I've seen young sayains like yourself meet an early demise because they chose the wrong mate."  
  
With that said, Vegeta departed from Trunks' doorway and Trunks buried his face in his pillow once again.  
  
'Please, Dende. Let me make this right.'  
  
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  
  
"I'm so sorry, Pan. I could've sworn that he wouldn't be home until after we'd already left."  
  
"It's okay. I guess I can't keep running from him forever."  
  
Seeing that it was almost time for them to leave, Pan helped Bra neaten up her room a bit before they went downstairs.  
  
"My, you girls look nice." Bulma remarked as she saw them walking towards the door.  
  
"Thanks mom. See you later."  
  
The two girls stepped outside and headed for Bra's black convertible. They drove to the club to meet Aikori. They found her waiting outside for them, looking a bit nervous.  
  
"I'm so glad you came."  
  
"Of course. That's what friends are for."  
  
"Wow, Pan, you look fabulous!"  
  
"Thanks. So do you." Pan eyed Aikori's long, navy blue velvet dress.  
  
The girls entered the club and Pan and Bra found a table to sit at. Aikori went backstage to prepare for her performance after both girls hugged her and wished her luck. When the act before her was finishing up, Aikori took a peek into the club from the backstage door. Bra and Pan were chatting between themselves and did not notice the male figure that had just entered the club. The place went dark and Aikori took her place at side stage. A single spotlight shone onto the microphone at the center of the stage. The announcer began his introduction of the next performance.  
  
"Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the musical talents of Ms. Aikori Ichijouji who will be singing one of her own songs."  
  
There was a brief applause as Aikori walked gracefully to center stage and stood before the mic. She looked out into the audience and saw the mysterious male approaching Pan from behind. She smiled and took this as a cue to introduce her song.  
  
"This song is dedicated to my friend, Pan. Someone very close to her happened to read the lyrics to this song and thought it would be the perfect way to tell her how he felt."  
  
Just then, Pan felt a hand rest lightly on her shoulder. She turned to see Trunks looking at her with the same expression hen had when they collided in the hallway.  
  
"Trunks, what the - " she was interrupted.  
  
"Shhh. Just listen to the song."  
  
". So Pan, this one's for you." Aikori finished.  
  
The music started softly and Aikori took a deep breath before she began singing in a strong and melodic voice.  
  
I always thought that we'd be together  
  
You know I'd beg you to stay I wished the days like this would go on forever But then, I pushed you away And it's making my head spin And I'm caught in love's whirlwind So now I just need to know.  
  
Chorus: How do you feel when I look in your eyes? How do you feel when I smile? How do you feel when I tell you goodnight? Does it make you want to be with me?  
  
Pan had been listening closely to the song and, one by one, silent tears slid down her face. Bra looked over at Pan and thanked Dende that she had thought to use waterproof make-up. Pan stood up and turned to Trunks, who had not left her side since the song began.  
  
"Can we go somewhere and talk?" Her eyes were glistening from the tears.  
  
:"You don't want to hear the rest of the song?"  
  
She shook her head and looked at him. Now she recognized the expression in his eyes. He had fallen for her and she was too angry to notice it. They went outside and sat in Trunks' car. They stared at each other in silence for what seemed like an eternity. Then, Trunks decided to speak.  
  
"I don't know why I had to hurt you in order to realize my feelings for you, and for that, I'm sorry. I always dismissed or hid my feelings because I assumed we could never be more than friends. But when I figured out what had made you so upset, I knew you didn't just want to be friends either. You've grown into a beautiful and strong spirited young woman, Pan, and. I- I think I'm in love with you."  
  
"Oh, Trunks-kun." She said with tears still streaming from her face.  
  
He leaned towards her and brought up his hand to wipe the wetness from her face. Pan also leaned in to meet his hand that lightly brushed her cheek and rested in her hair. Brown eyes met blue and the distance between them slowly began to close. Their lips finally met in a kiss that sought to empty the burden of all the feelings that had built up over time. When they broke away, he pulled Pan close and cradled her head on his shoulder. His arms wrapped tightly around her, Trunks bent his head to whisper in her ear.  
  
"Aishiteru, Pan. Forever and always."  
  
~FIN~  
  
  
  
AN: (sniff, I always did like happy endings!) Well, I finally did it! I finished typing out my fic! Did any of you like it? Don't be afraid to comment. I hope y'all liked my song. It's the only one I've ever written. Thanx for reading everybody!  
  
- Aikori Ichijouji 


	3. EPILOGUE

Author's Note: The few reviews I got said how good this fic was. I tried desperately to come up with a sequel but my other fic has been taking up most of my time. I did however; manage to come up with an epilogue to the story one night while suffering from my usual insomnia. Reviews would be most appreciated.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ orDBGT, so don't even think about suing me!  
  
  
  
EPILOGUE  
  
= ONE YEAR LATER =  
  
"Come on Trunks. What's taking you so long?" Pan called from outside his bedroom door. "If you don't hurry up, we're gonna be late!"  
  
"I'm coming, I'm coming!"  
  
The bedroom door flew open and Trunks stood before Pan in black dress pants and a black button-down shirt. His hair was combed as neatly as possible but the two 'antennae' still stuck out in front of his face. He gave Pan a light kiss on the lips as if to say 'thanks for waiting'. Pan gave him a satisfied smiled and grabbed his hand.  
  
"Let's go before we miss the whole thing."  
  
She ushered him downstairs at top speed, almost knocking over Bulma in the process, and practically pushed him out the door. They got in Trunks' car and began their long drive to the Satan City Coliseum. Aikori was offered a deal after her debut in the club last year as the opening act for singer/superstar, Miriya, during her tour. She offered to get free, front row tickets for Pan, Trunks, Goten and Bra, but they refused since Capsule Corp. was sponsoring the concert and Trunks got first pick any tickets he wanted. They arrived at the Coliseum with a few minutes to spare. Bra was already waiting on them since she'd dressed earlier and went to pick up Goten.  
  
"Let's go get our seats before the concert starts." Bra chirped.  
  
They followed her towards the large stage of the Coliseum where their seats were front row center. Just as they arrived at their section, the band started up and the Coliseum darkened with the exception of the bright, colored lights on stage. Aikori walked on stage in a long black dress with a red dragon sequined up the side of it. Microphone in hand, she went straight into one of her upbeat songs and had the entire crowd on their feet dancing. When that song had finished, the band quieted down to allow her a moment to speak.  
  
"The next song I'm going to sing for you has an important meaning for both myself and my best friend. It helped her find the man of her dreams and it helped me achieve what I have so far. One year ago, in a club in this very city, this was the song-"  
  
The band played a familiar intro. As Aikori began singing, Pan thought back to that night in the club. She was interrupted from her reverie when Trunks stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder.  
  
"That song is important to me too. If it weren't for those words I never would have realized what I was about to lose if I'd let you go."  
  
A solitary tear slid down her cheek in memory of that night one year that changed her life.  
  
"Don't Pan. I have something that I think might cheer you up."  
  
Before she could ask him what it was, he silently slipped a white gold and diamond engagement ring on her finger. She turned around to face him and looked in his eyes.  
  
"Will you?"  
  
"Yes, of course, but I'm only 19. Do you really think we should?"  
  
"Well, we have forever to spend together. I guess I can wait."  
  
She giggled as she flung her arms around his neck and kissed him. She then rested her head on his shoulder and, with Aikori's beautiful voice in the background, they danced. Bra and Goten looked over at the happy couple and smiled at each other. Bra looked at Aikori on the stage and they exchanged an inconspicuous wink between each other. Apparently the song had not lost its effect.  
  
  
  
= TWO YEARS AFTER THAT =  
  
It was Pan's 21st birthday and two weeks from her wedding. In the midst of the birthday/wedding celebration, it was time for Pan to open her gifts. She thought she had opened all of them; a gorgeous silk dress from Bra, a set of frying pans from Chi Chi (AN: I couldn't resist ^_^!), Bulma had designed and created Pan's dream house and encapsulated it and practically forced Vegeta to put his signature on the card with hers, her parents had bought her a silver sports car, a bassinet from Krillin and Number 18 who winked when she opened their present, Goten practically flew all over the world to find only the 4 star dragonball so that Pan could have it to remind her of Goku, a collection of delicate and expensive perfumes from Marron and an antique necklace with opals carved into roses from Trunks. However, there was a small package that she managed to overlook Pan carefully pulled off the tissue paper wrapping to find a CD and a letter.  
  
Dear Pan,  
  
I received news of your upcoming wedding from Bra. It pains me that I cannot return in time to attend. This is neither your birthday nor your wedding gift, but I thought you might like to remain a part of my career, which you helped to create. This is my first CD! Do not worry, your real present is on its way from Italy.  
  
Love, Aikori  
  
P.S. Don't forget to read the 'Thank You' section of the CD booklet.  
  
Later that evening, while curled up on the couch with Trunks. Pan picked up the CD from the coffee table and opened the booklet to read the Thank You page.  
  
To my parents for loving and believing in me all the way. To my beloved brother, Ken, thank you for always being my strength and inspiring me. To my friend, Bra, your fashion tips have finally come in handy. Last, but definitely not least, to my best friend, Pan and her fiancé, Trunks, thank you, thank you, thank you, for showing me that dreams really do come true. I dedicate 'How Do You Feel?' to you both. I anxiously await the day that I find a love as pure and true as yours.  
  
"We should really be the ones thanking her, ne?" Trunks said, cuddling a little closer to Pan.  
  
'Thank you, Aikori, a thousand times over.' Pan said in her mind. 'You deserve as much happiness as I was privileged to find.'  
  
  
  
~FIN~  
  
  
  
Author's Note: I really couldn't go into the whole marriage thing with Pan and Trunks. I always thought that was best left to the imagination. Let's just leave this story on a blissfully happy note. Arigatou and Sayonara! 


End file.
